Golf fitness: what training really brings, exercises for home and a stretching routine

Golf fitness has a bad name as a sales pitch: if you want more strength, buy a gadget. The research is more sober and more useful. There are several systematic reviews that evaluate training programmes in golfers, and they say three things: training measurably brings speed and distance, the kind of training matters, and flexibility alone brings no speed. Here is what they say exactly, which exercises follow and how to measure the result in a bay.

What training brings: the numbers

The first review is from 2021 and evaluates 20 studies. Combined training, that is non-specific strength training together with golf-specific movements, raised club head speed by 4.1 per cent on average and hitting distance by 5.2 per cent. Non-specific strength training alone brought 1.6 per cent speed and 4.8 per cent distance (Uthoff et al., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research).

The second is from 2026 and considerably larger: 33 studies with 798 participants, 26 of them with a control group. In the controlled studies club head speed rose by 1.05 metres per second on average, ball speed by 2.20, carry by 9.33 metres and total distance by 10.55 metres (Sports Medicine, 2026). 1.05 metres per second is roughly 2.3 mph by my calculation. The authors rate the certainty of the evidence as low. The picture is therefore clear in direction and uncertain in size.

Study	Scope	Result
Uthoff et al. 2021	20 studies	combined training: 4.1% speed, 5.2% distance; non-specific: 1.6% and 4.8%
Sports Medicine 2026	33 studies, 798 people	controlled: plus 1.05 m/s club head, plus 9.33 m carry; low certainty of evidence
Sports Medicine 2024	20 studies	club head speed relates to strength and jump power, not to flexibility

How reliable the numbers are

The 2021 paper searched 4,557 results and included 20 studies. Thirteen of them investigated nonspecific resistance training, one specific, seven combined. The 4.1 percent for combined training therefore rests on seven studies, and the authors write that adaptations depend on the type and intensity of the training and on the characteristics of the participants.

Result of the controlled studies, 2026	Mean	95 percent interval
Clubhead speed	1.05 m/s	0.39 to 1.71
Ball speed	2.20 m/s	1.16 to 3.23
Carry	9.33 m	5.12 to 13.55
Total distance	10.55 m	6.30 to 14.81

The interval shows how widely the estimate scatters. For carry it runs from just over five to just under fourteen metres. Included were golfers of any sex, age and playing level who trained for at least four weeks. The authors rate the certainty of the evidence as low for all controlled outcomes and very low for the studies without a control group, and they call for more fully reported studies on specific groups. A mean of nine metres is therefore not a promise for your shots.

What counts: strength and jump power, not flexibility

The third paper asks the reverse, which physical characteristics relate to speed. It evaluates 20 studies. Club head speed was associated with the strength of the legs and upper body, with jump height, with peak power in the jump and with explosive upper-body strength. The strongest association was with jump impulse. There was no significant association with flexibility or with balance (Sports Medicine, 2024).

That is the most important line for everyone searching for golf stretching. Stretching and mobilising have their place, as a warm-up and because they make the swing possible in the first place. You do not buy more speed with them. An association is also no proof of a cause: someone who swings faster may be stronger for other reasons. Together with the training studies, though, the picture is consistent.

The figures of the third paper, the closer to 1 the stronger the association with clubhead speed:

Feature	Figure
Jump impulse	0.82
explosive upper-body strength	0.67
peak power in the jump	0.66
upper-body strength	0.48
lower-body strength	0.47
flexibility	minus 0.04, not significant
balance	minus 0.06, not significant

These are associations between measurements and speed in injury-free golfers, not an effect of training. They say what fast golfers have in common, not what makes you faster. That is what the controlled studies above are for. It is striking that explosive upper-body strength was associated much more strongly than plain strength, 0.67 against 0.48.

The programme the studies describe

Which programmes worked best, the 2021 paper sums up in one sentence: eight weeks of golf-specific movements at high speed, three to four sets of five to fifteen repetitions (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research). How often per week people trained, the abstracts do not say. The plan below takes duration, sets and repetitions from the study. The choice of exercises is mine, and it follows the characteristics the studies name: strength, jump power, explosive rotation and swing speed.

Weeks	Focus	Examples	Volume
1 and 2	Base strength, legs and upper body	squat, lunge, row, press-up	3 to 4 sets, 8 to 12 repetitions
3 and 4	Plus jump power	counter-movement jump, box jump	3 to 4 sets, 5 repetitions
5 and 6	Plus explosive rotation	medicine-ball throw sideways against a wall	3 to 4 sets, 5 throws each side
7 and 8	Golf-specific, fast	whoosh drill with the club, at swing speed	3 to 4 sets, 5 to 15 swings

The PGA of America describes the whoosh drill in its beginner's guide: turn the club upside down, grip below the head and swing. The louder the whoosh around the impact area, the faster the swing (PGA of America). Then you repeat it with the club in the normal position and listen to the acceleration at the bottom. It is a speed drill that costs nothing and fits in any living room with a high ceiling.

If you have complaints, above all in your back, clear the training first with a doctor or a physiotherapist. What golf does to the back and what the warm-up looks like is in Golf and back pain.

The stretching routine before the round

The PGA of America beginner's guide shows five stretches you can do without equipment (PGA of America). The instructions are the PGA's; I have shortened them.

Stretch	How
Trunk twister	Place the club across the shoulder joints, cross the arms, standing upright rotate to the trail side like a backswing and hold, then to the target side
Hamstring and lower back	Feet shoulder-width apart, lean forward with the arms hanging down, do not bounce
Calf	Lean on a fixed object, feet shoulder-width apart, about two feet away, heels stay on the ground
Front of the thigh	Stand on one leg, bend the other knee, grasp the ankle, hold on to a fixed object
Lat	Hands slightly below shoulder height on a fixed frame, bend at the hips and pull away from the frame

The guide gives no fixed holding time. For the stretch of the back of the thigh and lower back it says: hold it, do not bounce, and repeat as needed. With the warm-up that is the answer to how you lower the risk of injury. Which injuries are most common is in Avoiding golf injuries.

More on this: Overspeed training in golf.

Measuring the result in a bay

A training programme without measurement is a feeling. A bay measures the numbers that matter: club head speed, ball speed and carry. Before the programme hit ten shots with the driver, drop the best and the worst, write down the average, and repeat after eight weeks. The table of club head speed by handicap, which lets you place yourself, is in Club head speed.

An hour costs a median of CHF 50 per bay, usually shared by up to four people. 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish their hourly price. The map shows venues near you, and anyone running the programme in winter finds the swing part in the winter training plan. For players from sixty there is Golf at 60 plus.

Frequently asked questions

Does strength training increase club head speed?

Yes, on average. A review of 20 studies gives 4.1 per cent more speed for combined training and 1.6 per cent for non-specific strength training. A 2026 review gives plus 1.05 metres per second, roughly 2.3 mph, with low certainty of evidence.

Does stretching help for more distance?

There is no evidence for that. A 2024 meta-analysis found no significant association between flexibility and club head speed, but one with strength and jump power. Stretching has its place as a warm-up, not as speed training.

How long should a golf training programme last?

The 2021 review names eight weeks of golf-specific movements at high speed, three to four sets of five to fifteen repetitions. How often per week, the abstracts do not say. The plan in this post is an example built on that basis.

Which exercises suit golf at home?

Squat, lunge, row and press-up for base strength, jumps for jump power, a medicine-ball throw for rotation and the whoosh drill with the club for speed. The selection follows the characteristics that relate to speed.

How do I measure whether the training did anything?

In a simulator bay with ten driver shots before the programme and after eight weeks. Note club head speed, ball speed and carry, drop the best and the worst shot and compare the averages.

Sources

• Uthoff et al.: Effects of Resistance Training Methods on Golf Clubhead Speed and Hitting Distance, J Strength Cond Res 2021 (20 Studien, 4,1 und 1,6 Prozent, acht Wochen, 3 bis 4 Sätze)
• Sports Medicine 2026: Effects of Physical Training Interventions on Golf Shot Performance, Meta-Analyse (33 Studien, 798 Personen, plus 1,05 m/s und 9,33 m Carry)
• Sports Medicine 2024: Associations Between Physical Characteristics and Golf Clubhead Speed, Meta-Analyse (20 Studien, Kraft und Sprungkraft ja, Beweglichkeit nein)
• PGA of America: First Swing Golfer's Guide (PDF) (fünf Dehnungen, Whoosh-Drill)
• Swiss Golf Simulators: eigene Einträge (Stundenpreise, Stand Oktober 2026)